Greater Kithangian
CREATURE 10Variant kithangian
The kithangian—a horrifying amalgam of horse and scorpion also known as a "beast demon"—is a foul fend born of the souls of mortals who abused and tormented animals in life. Kithangians tend to roam wild areas rife with animals to torture, though humanoid settlements with plenty of pets or livestock also make for tantalizing hunting grounds. Uncontested for too long, a kithangian's presence has a corrupting influence on the local fauna, which birth fiendish monstrosities until the demon is vanquished. If it realizes it's being tracked by vengeful druids or demon slayers, a kithangian assumes the shape of an unassuming animal so it can get the jump on its pursuers.
A monster with telepathy can communicate mentally with any creatures within the listed radius, as long as they share a language. This doesn't give any special access to their thoughts, and communicates no more information than normal speech would.
A constant spell affects the monster without the monster needing to cast it, and its duration is unlimited. If a constant spell gets counteracted, the monster can reactivate it by spending the normal spellcasting actions the spell requires.
This monster can see in all directions simultaneously and therefore can't be flanked.
Kithangians find kindness to animals revolting. The first time each round that a kithangian sees someone heal or otherwise provide aid to a creature that has the animal trait, the kithangian takes 3d6 mental.
A kithangian's melee Strikes deal an additional 2d6 damage to animals.
The kithangian can take on the appearance of any Medium or Large animal. This doesn't change its Speed or their attack and damage modif ers with its Strikes, but it might change the damage type its Strikes deal.
The monster changes its shape indefinitely. It can use this action again to return to its natural shape or adopt a new shape. Unless otherwise noted, a monster cannot use Change Shape to appear as a specific individual. Using Change Shape counts as creating a disguise for the Impersonate use of Deception. The monster's transformation automatically defeats Perception DCs to determine whether the creature is a member of the ancestry or creature type into which it transformed, and it gains a +4 status bonus to its Deception DC to prevent others from seeing through its disguise. Change Shape abilities specify what shapes the monster can adopt. The monster doesn't gain any special abilities of the new shape, only its physical form. For example, in each shape, it replaces its normal Speeds and Strikes, and might potentially change its senses or size. Any changes are listed in its stat block.
The monster can instead use Grab and choose one creature it's grabbing or restraining with an appendage that has Grab to automatically extend that condition to the end of the monster's next turn.